


Just a Bunch of Teenagers in the Woods at Night

by sweettoothdinosaur



Category: Paranatural (Webcomic)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Author doesn't know what they're doing, Comedy, Crack Relationships, Implied Sexual Content, Multi, Teenagers, alcohol mention, it's almost ten at night give me a break, no adult supervision as said by johnny, no adults at all, nothing explicit but rated for language and dumb teenagers, teens in the woods at night, this is a dumb teenage story about teenagers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2018-01-11
Packaged: 2019-02-18 21:29:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13108881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweettoothdinosaur/pseuds/sweettoothdinosaur
Summary: What happens when you put a bunch of teenagers alone in the woods? Without adult supervision? Add a bit of camping and some horror-comedy tropes with romance. And.... you get loud punks and screaming adolescents. Sounds like a bundle of teenage hormone fun! If you’re a child, please do not read this until you’ve had sex ed classes and understand teenage movies.





	1. My Dad Doesn't Know How Teens Work

**Author's Note:**

> Please.... if you're not mature enough to handle shipping, then turn back because a lot of this content is supposed to be teenage humor and young adult themes.... 
> 
> If you're familiar with like Teen Wolf and multi-shipping, then I welcome you. 
> 
> I don't want people to complain about shipping characters.... etc.... 
> 
> Also, please don't actually drink alcohol because milkshakes are better.

It was a mass text that started it all.

A plan to have a camp-out in the middle of nowhere in Mayview’s forest. No adults. No kids.

In response to this message, some students chose to ignore it. Many of them knew that this was going to be one hell of a time. Others… didn’t completely think this through and decided to join. One teenager ended up being forced into this mess.

“Dad, what are you doing?” Max dubiously looked him. He was rummaging through a heap of objects in the hallway closet. The older man popped his head out and dropped a duffel bag on the floor.

“Just helping you prepare for your camp out with your buddies!” He jumped out of the closet.

“What camp out—” His mouth hung low for a moment. Narrowing his eyes, the brunette glared at his dad.

“C’mon Max! This is a great way to kick off the summer vacation!” Mr. Puckett was still grinning at his son.

“You read through my texts. While I was in the shower.” He said in a low tone.

“Max, you know that I would never be an overprotective parent who stalks their child! I’m much better than that!” He pointed a finger at his son and turned around. “I saw the text when your phone vibrated and now I’m going to let you roam free in the great outdoors!”

“Dad, I’m not—”

“I’m taking Zoey to a two-week trip to Europe and I don’t want you to burn down the house.”

“This isn’t even a house—”

“I don’t want anything bad happening to you, so I’m leaving you to trust the great outdoors.”

* * *

In order to make his son go on a camping trip, Mr. Puckett locked the store. The family of three waited outside for someone to pick up Max. The moment that he would go to the woods, his father and sister would immediately drive away from the small town. Soon enough, they saw a car approaching. Skidding to a stop, they could see someone in the passenger’s seat. She was leaning over to honk the horn furiously.

Max sighed and took one look back at his dad. He was smiling and waving goodbye to him. When the door popped open, an arm grabbed and pulled him into the camper.

“Love you, have fun! Make sure to eat s’mores!” His dad yelled out. And that was that. His dad and sister immediately piled into their car and drove at a dangerous speed.  
In the van, Max stared blankly at the interior. He looked around to see Dimitri at the wheel and Suzy grinning at him.

“Hey Collin,” He waved at the younger-looking boy near the table. “Hey, Dimitri and… Suzy.”

“I’m so glad that you could join everyone on this camping trip!” The blonde happily said.

“Well, it’s not like I’m being blackmailed to go with you guys.” He took a seat at the corner, folding his arms. “But like, no offense to Collin or Dimitri.”

“None taken.” The driver said.

“I do not know what Suzy has on you, but it seems really deep.” Collin stated, not looking up from the papers in front of him.

“Actually, it's not really blackmailing at all,” Max replied and the brunette made a questioning face at him.

“Seems like you got lucky.” Dimitri smiled. “You didn’t fall in the spider’s web.”

“Er… yeah, it’s just a deal she offered to me.” The teenager adjusted his cap.

“And you took the devil’s offer?!” Collin looked at him with wide eyes.

“I’m only asking for a teeny tiny favor.” The blonde rolled her eyes and laughed. Her sidekick was still in shock at the words that came from her mouth.

“...And that’s basically dragging me on your stupid camping trip to the woods at night.” He stared deadpanned at the girl sitting across from him. “With others.”

“It’s a requirement to bring you here!” She stared at his phone. “You’re obviously the magnet of Mayview and I need more people to go to my events! I told you this was only a small favor!”

“What did she offer you?” The younger boy looked straight into the brunette’s eyes. “What power do you want from her?”

“I am… _not_ going to answer that.” He replied. Suddenly, the girl’s hand gripped onto his black hood.

“Smile!” She jerked his hood, so his face was towards hers. There was a click and the flash from her phone went off. While Max was recovering from the surprise selfie, Suzy was smiling widely to herself. She focused on her phone’s screen for a while. Soon after, her fist slammed on the table in triumph.

“Augh, why’d you do that?” Max scowled at the blonde who was cheering.

“So people will know that you’re coming along, of course! Like I said, ‘you’re a magnet.’ And if people see you going on a trip with me, then there’s going to be more joining on the fun!”

“So… you’re saying that you posted a fucking photo of me on social media to attract teenagers.” He stated.

“What can I say? You attract the seniors too.” She laughed.

“You did this to yourself.” Collin whisper was mixed with a low hissing noise. “You asked for power, and now you must pay her with your soul.”

“About that, what exactly do you get in return for working with her?” A finger pointed straight at her.

“Touché.” 

* * *

 

“Wow, I’m surprised this isn’t this some dump where we have to pay to camp.” Max jumped out of the car and to stretch. His eyes went gazed into the late afternoon scenery.

They were in a clearing of Mayview’s backwoods. Completely surrounded by a thick forest of dark green leaves, it seemed that there wouldn’t be a single person in miles. Underneath his shoes, the grass was colored bright green. Traveling downhill, the grass was replaced by pebbles and dirt and he stood at the water’s edge. In front of him, a great lake was calm and still. Looking down, Max saw the water was tinted a myrtle color. Before taking a closer look at the lake, a rock skidded across the surface.

“Now’s not the time to take a dip. We’ve got things to set up.” Suzy announced, prompting her hands to her hips. The brunette just rolled his eyes her because he knew that she wouldn’t do anything at all. Walking away from the lake, he went back to where she stood. “I take it that you’re liking this spot?”

“Eh, it’s not that bad.” He shrugged.

“Good! Because this used to be the ancient grounds for cultists to sacrifice humans and use their souls to communicate with the legendary monsters of Earth.” She rubbed her hands together. At this, the other boy could only manage a blank stare.

“This is actually just a place near my great-grandparents’ vacation home.” Collin gestured across the lake. “I doubt that this used to be a place for cults. It’s more like a place where a bunch of teenagers get crashed.”

“Yes, but there must be a death story for this lake!” The blonde added.

“Are you saying that someone’s going to die tonight?” Max lowered his brow at her.

“Nonsense!” She slapped him on the back. “All I’m just saying is that we could trigger some sort ghost that haunts this lake by partying!”

“If you brought an Ouija board, I _will_ leave this place with my own two feet.” He stated.

“This is also a place where the high schoolers would party at. So, there has to be some ghost story involved if there was a death.” She explained. 

“Honestly, she’s not wrong about how teenagers would get drunk here.” Her assistant looked back at the taller boy. “And Dimitri made sure that no ouija boards will be used tonight.”

“If I’m lucky, I’ll wake up the next morning without being killed.” Max muttered to himself. Walking to the camper, he grabbed his bag and went back outside.

“Hey, Max!” Someone called out to the boy coming out of the vehicle. From the distance, he saw both Jeff and Cody running towards him and the journalist crew. When they got there, the brunette only raised his hand to acknowledge them.

“It’s great to see that we’re kicking off the summer with group activity!” Cody smiled. In reply, the capped boy gave him a half-hearted thumbs-up. “I heard that we didn’t need to bring any tents with us, so do you know where we’re staying?”

“There’s actually a few cabins behind all those trees. But you have to walk for a shower.” Suzy answered him, pointing at the trees. The black-haired teen nodded in acknowledgment and looked back at his best friend.

“You wanna go for number three?” He asked the teenager with fluffy hair.

“Why three?” Collin gave them a confused look. “Every cabin is the same.”

“Three is the magic number! Don’t you know that?” Jeff said. “We might as well get first-pick at the first number!”

“...That does not make any sense.” He replied, taking a step away from the pair. “Just take any number. The cabins aren’t reserved.”

“Well, I guess it’s first come, first serve.” Cody and Jeff ran off into the trees as everyone else gave confused looks.

“I suggest you find a cabin and make sure you don’t end up with the people who lack common sense.” Collin whispered to him. Shaking his head, Max followed their direction towards the thick brush.

Throughout the entire woods, he took note that there wasn’t much activity going on. His eyes could only see trees standing still. No sounds, no critters or creatures wandering about. Max could only assume that the ghosts were adapting to the forest’s camouflage. But did the supernatural really need to hide in a forest? Well, there could probably be a giant bird ghost that hunted on them.

It felt out of the ordinary to not see any creature in sight. However, the brunette took it as a breather and knew he wouldn’t end up embarrassing himself in front of everyone else. For all he knew, the ghosts could be more active at night and probably join in on the party that night. They found the things that humans did were amusing. Or at least... That’s his interpretation of how PJ saw how humans worked.

Whatever the case, it was still unusual to see a silent forest. Nothing walked or slithered on the ground. It was as if his vision was perfectly “normal.” Continuing through the deep forest, he looked for the nearest cabin to drop off the excessive amount of camping supplies his dad found. After a bit of walking, he finally found one in sight and walked up to it. The number ten was engraved on the door.

Turning the knob, he found the entire room to be covered in dust and cobwebs. A musty smell hung in the air of this dark room. Dropping his belongings, he peered at the small space. There were two bunk beds, obviously hosting four people at most. Most of the furniture was made up wood and were worn away. To his left, he saw a piece of wood in in an upright position. On the door’s right, there was a stopper that would hold the wooden board.

“No locks to pick then.” The brunette shrugged and threw his sleeping bag on one of the bunks. With that, a cloud of dust rose up and he began to sneeze continuously. Running out of the cabin, he came to a slow stop and coughed out the dust instead.

“Allergic to dead skin?” The voice surprised him and his eyes shot up at the girl in front of him. As much as the monotone voice was familiar, it never ceased to catch the teenager off-guard.

“Aren’t we all allergic to something, Lisa?” Max got up to dust himself off. “For example, I’m allergic to assholes.”

“True.” She commented, leaning against a tree. “What brings you here?”

“Suzy.” He replied in a deadpanned voice. “...And you?”

“You shouldn’t really rely on her to get things for you, Max. You could have come and ask for my services on your goal.” Lisa smiled calmly at him. She looked off to the distance. “I’m here because it’s my way of making money with drinks.”

“That last sentence is the exact reason why I didn’t go to you.” He silently stared at her. “I think that making a deal with Suzy is better than blowing a hole in my wallet.”

“Well, I’m just going to tell you that you can always come to me if Suzy gets too wild.” She shrugged and began to walk away. “I still have things about her that could save your ass.”

“Yeah, thanks for offering me a chance to pay you in cold hard cash.” He replied. “All she wants me to do is stay for a few nights here. I think that I can handle it.”

In an instant, she disappeared from his sight. Shaking his head, Max let out a sigh of annoyance. This was only going to last for a few days. Then he could probably stay at someone’s house until his dad returned. For now, he knew that the journalist had the power to do things in the real world that he could barely do.

When evening began to fall, a lot more people showed up than he expected. They were going to the cabins to drop off their stuff and others were starting to make a bonfire. For some of the teenagers, they were in charge of bringing take-out food and barbeque supplies. In the midst of all this, he swore that Lisa brought a minibar to the campsite. Just as the brunette was about to relax and watch the sunset, someone punches him on the back.

Max didn’t have to guess who it was. It was an aggressive and excited vibe. Only one person could put those two words together. Johnny Jhonny.

“Ready to for me to crash this party?” He said in a taunting voice.

“First, this isn’t a party.” Max said, lifting his hand up to flick Johnny’s forehead. “Second, you can’t crash a party when everyone’s going be crashed the next morning.”

“Well, that gives me an excuse to punch people. Because I’ll have an epic drunk-punch!” He mocked a right hook at the other teenager.

“That’s if you can handle a shot.” Max snorted and the redhead was about to retaliate. However, he was taken away by Suzy.

“What cabin are you in?! We can settle this tonight, you know!” Johnny raised his voice at him. Being dragged by the blonde, Max could only wave a goodbye at the bully and pretend he didn’t hear him. Deep down inside, he hoped that Johnny wouldn’t find his cabin and pulled a prank on him.

“So, what do you want from me now?” The brunette inquired.

“Be where the group is! Take selfies and attract others! Help me get followers!” She announced to him and he regretted asking that question. Images flashed through his mind of how many cameras and lights would glare into his eyes. This imagination made him shudder.

“It’s not really my job to sit and look pretty.” He mumbled and wished he was laying down instead. But Suzy pretended not to hear him and dragged him where the crowds were. There, she let him go and the brunette was left to defend himself in the sea of noisy chatter. For the most of the time, he was fortunate that no one tried to make small talk or grab him.

“Wow.” Max felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Isabel and Ed. “I can’t believe that you let Suzy take a selfie with her.”

“How much did she need to bribe to kidnap you?” The blonde raised both of his hands, imitating a scale. Meanwhile, Isabel’s face read an unimpressed and amused look.

“Ugh, why does everyone think I signed a contract with a demon.” He groaned and his two friends just laughed. Something about this moment made him smiled a bit.

“Anyways, Isaac’s taking our stuff to the cabin.” Isabel tugged her jacket pockets low. “We made a bet on who had to carry our stuff to the cabin.”

“But— You didn’t even know where I am—” The teenager in round glasses gave him a funny look and he saw Isabel grinning. He exhaled. “...I don’t think I want to know.”

“Johnny was just screaming about it actually. And everything was easier.” The blonde explained. “Everything.”

“So, I guess this means you guys are going to stay the night then.” Max droned at his two friends, who were still smiling at him. “Right?”

“We came for the free pizza.” The blonde said.

“And to stop you from getting drunk.” The dark-haired girl teased. “We’re here to just be your supporting friends.”

“What makes you think that I’ll get drunk?” The capped boy asked.

“Yeah, about that... I don’t want to be with my grandpa for summer training.” She admitted. “I’d rather hang out for tonight and have some fun and see you get drunk.”

“Look, I’m not going to get drunk on the first night guys,” Max said and shrugged at his two friends. “I got locked out of my house, dragged by Suzy multiple times, snorted dust, and punched by Johnny. I’m going to sleep at this point.”

“Well alright,” Ed replied. “Isabel could tell a ghost story and I could add some… special effects.”

“Well whatever, I think that I’m done with standing and looking pretty.” He waved off the pair and they said goodnight to him.

Walking back to the woods, the sunlight was just about gone. Above him, the lavender sky was beginning to get darker. Some dots were appearing one by one as the night sky settled in. The sight of this made his body feel at ease. Despite not being able to see in this dusk, Max preferred navigating himself through the shadowy trees and touching them. His hands were lightly touching the tree trunks, feeling through the cool summer night.

Suddenly, he heard a thump and couldn’t react fast enough. In result, he fell backward and heard a loud yelp. Laying completely on the ground, he could sense someone above his body now. The two teenagers that fell were panting from the sudden fall. Just as one of them was about to speak, a light beamed into their direction.

“Oh, uh… I thought someone got hurt for a sec.” Violet trailed off as she stared at the two boys in the light. While Max was rubbing his eyes out, Isaac stared at the person shining the flashlight on them. The ginger was on top of his friend, his hand laid flat on the dirt ground. His eyes widened and his face flushed pink to see that his face was two inches from the brunette’s. A moment of silence fell. Until Violet broke the ice. “Sorry ruining the moment… or whatever. I’m supposing to be leading people out of the woods and stuff.”

“I fell over a tree root, that’s all.” Issac quickly explained as he shot up from the ground. Looking back at his fallen friend, he pulled him up and reached for the ground again. Picking up the blue cap, he gave it back to the boy in front of him. “Sorry about that.”

“I was on my way to my cabin. Because sleep.” Max added, putting his cap back on and looked back at his older friend. “It’s okay though, Isaac didn’t kill me or anything.”

“I’m not sure if you deserve my apology now.” The other boy uttered, burying his face in his hands. “I probably should join up with everyone else at the fire. Well, goodnight then.”

Running over to the girl, Issac didn’t look back at his friend. They both walked off, leaving the brunette alone in the dark again. He shook off this off and began to walk again.

“Did I interrupt something?” A feminine voice spoke out of nowhere. Slowly turning his head, Max could see a face on the tree trunk.

“Not really. Just my friend tripping over your…” In his mind, debated whether to call the root a ‘leg’ or an actual root.

“The reason why I asked the question, silly.” The tree chuckled. “I’m able to move on my own. So I assume that your friend can see me as well.”

“Why didn’t you say anything back there then?” He gave the tree a dubious look.

“I didn’t want to ruin the moment, dear.” She said in response. “It was my mistake anyway. As an apology, I’ll take you to your cabin. So I suggest you hold on tight.”

“This makes me feel like a tree hugger.” Max fumed, gripping onto the trunk and placing his shoes on the roots. From there on, he could feel the tree walking freely on its own in an up and down motion. It was silent again. “Could I ask you a question?”

“Yes?”

“Where are all the ghosts and spirits here?” He asked.

“Most of us prefer to come out at night. But let’s just say that this isn’t the most peaceful place for us to wonder about.”

“What does that mean—”

“Hush now, child. I think that it’d be best for you to sleep.” She came to a stop near a familiar door. “You need more energy to speak at these times.”

“What does that have to do with talking to you?” He blurted out, jumping onto the cabin's steps.

“You can always speak to me at sundown. I am near the first cabin.” The tree spirit began to stalk off. “Goodnight to you.”

The moment that she was gone, Max went into the cabin. Inside, the air smelled cleaner and there was not a speck of dust inside. Somehow, it was already obvious to him that Isaac used his powers to clean out the cabin. A weak smile came across his face for some unknown reason. However, Max felt too drained and too tired all of a sudden. Without another thought, he fainted onto his sleeping bag on the bunk bed.


	2. Water Balloons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vegetarian = Someone who doesn't eat products from animals. (Includes dairy and eggs)  
> Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian = Someone who doesn't eat red meat. (Allowed to have dairy and eggs)   
> Vegan = Someone who avoids using ALL animal products. (Please do not give them beauty products tested on animals) 
> 
> Just so you know, I'm lacto-ovo vegetarian and yeah. Just wanted to clear this up.

_ “You can always speak to me at sundown. I am near the first cabin.”  _

_ “Where are all the ghosts and spirits here?”  _

_ “Hush now, child. I’d think that it’d be best for you to sleep.”  _

_ “What does that mean—”  _

Out of nowhere, cold water splashed. Eyes squeezing from the sudden impact, Max could hear voices near him. He was now awake but refusing to open his eyes from the wake-up call. 

“C’mon, wake up.” Isabel was shaking the brunette awake. At first, he tried to push her away and buried his face into the mattress. To his dismay, it was soaked with the cold water that splashed him earlier. 

“Mornings are too early for me.” He sat up and used his shirt to wipe the water from his face. 

“We’re at war with Johnny now!” Ed called out from the top bunk. “So we’re going to need your help.” 

“How wonderful.” Looking up, Max saw that Isabel was tossing water balloon in her hand. Behind her, the blonde was busy painting a catapult and Isaac was next to a tub of multicolored balloons. 

“Are you going to help or not?” She tossed the water balloon at him. He glanced back and forth for a moment and smirked. 

“Hell yeah.” He reached for his blue cap. “So what’s the plan?” 

“We seek vengeance from the events of last night.” Ed explained, focusing the design of his catapult. 

“You see, Johnny got marshmallow goo in our hair.” Isaac fumed, running a hand through his hair. 

“I don’t want to even describe how hard it was to get it out of my long hair.” She let out an annoyed sigh. 

“Yeah, but it was the marshmallows that haunt me.” The ginger shuddered. 

“I don’t see why marshmallows are  _ scary _ to you.” Max stifled a laugh. Grabbing a pillow, he squished it as if it were a giant-sized marshmallow. 

“Um, hello?  _ Vegetarian _ .” He gave him an annoyed look and gestured to himself. “Marshmallows aren’t vegan, you doof.” 

“I thought that they were.” Ed said in an amused voice. 

“Huh, I thought that you could eat marshmallows.” Isabel turned to the vegetarian. “There aren’t any eggs in them…” 

“I thought so, too.” Max paused for a moment. “Wait. I think that I remember my dad saying something about vegan marshmallows existing.” 

“Marshmallows are made with animal products!” Isaac shouted at them, making an irritated face. 

“My life has been a lie!” Ed screeched out loud. 

“Why are we talking about marshmallows, anyway?” A dubious look was plastered on the brunette’s face. Shaking his head, he looked at his friend. “Whatever. Let’s just get revenge on Johnny!” 

“Now that’s the camping spirit!” Isabel cheered. With that, the quartet began to lay out their plans to strike in the morning. 

_ Meanwhile…  _

“Is everyone on hangover or something?” Violet yawned. She and Lisa were walking out early to the showers. “You were giving out so many drinks last night.” 

“Remember how I said drinks were on me?” The other girl said. 

“Uh, yeah?” The brunette replied. 

“It was actually sparkling apple cider.” In response, Violet could only give her a skeptical look. However, the older girl only smiled to herself. The morning air was calm and still as they continued to walk. No one was awake at this time, so the pair can basically claim the showers all to themselves. 

Suddenly, there was a splash heard in the distance. Lisa stopped walking for a moment, narrowing her eyes. Looking around for a moment, she saw that the area was clear and went back to walking. 

“THIS IS A CRIME AGAINST CLOWNS!” Someone shouted in the distance. In reaction, the brunette made a face of uncertainty. A few more shouts and faint screams followed as they continued their walk. By now, both girls were too far to make out the yelling. 

“Hey, you have any quarters with you?” Violet went into one of the shower stalls. Without saying a word, the other girl gave her a roll of quarters. She thanked her friend and went to put the coins in the slot. “Why do they make you pay for taking a shower?” 

“Because it’s cheaper than the actual water bills your parents get. Unless you take a hot shower for three hours.” The other girl answered. 

“You didn’t have to actually answer that.” She said. Both showers were on full blast and steam quickly rose from the chilled air. After showering, both girls were at the mirrors to prepare for the day ahead. In the middle of styling her hair, Lisa heard two people screaming and running towards the showers. Still drying her hair, Violet walked out to see two of her friends panting from the run. 

“We... w-were ambushed…” The shorter boy huffed. 

“It wasn’t so bad.” Cody gave a weak smile. “Just a little morning run to get the day going.” 

“I don’t think I want to know.” She said, closing her eyes. Rubbing the towel on her head, she could still remember the previous shouting. 

“I think that I dropped my shampoo on way here.” The dark haired boy blinked and started to run back. However, his friend stopped him by grabbing his sleeve. 

“Don’t go back out there, man.  _ It’s dangerous _ .” He gulped. “You could just use my shampoo.” 

“Thanks a lot then, Jeff.” He stopped himself from running back. Then, a hand went through his black hair. 

“I don’t think you should be using his shampoo with  _ your _ hair.” Violet shook her head in disapproval. Running back to the women’s showers, she gave him a bottle of shampoo. “I know that Lisa would kill me if you touched hers, so here’s my brand.” 

“Oh, okay.” Cody said and he went to the showers with Jeff. 

Going back into the bathroom, she joined her friend and they continued fixing themselves up. Lisa remained quiet as did the brunette. 

“So, what do you think of them?” She was tying her hair up in a bun. 

“What do you mean?” Violet replied. 

“Cody and Jeff being friends again.” The hair band snapped into place. 

“Oh, it’s… great.” She replied casually, looking down at her braid. 

“Do you envy them?” Lisa inquired, looking through a case of hair clips. 

“It’s  _ not _ what you’re assuming, that’s for sure.” Her hands went to work on the other braid. “We’re teenagers in high school. There’s probably going to be drama down the road and I don’t want to deal with something  _ worse _ than what happened in middle school.” 

“Ah, I see.” The black haired girl turned to her friend. “Everything’s going to be fine because we’re camping. The worst that could happen is that someone dies.” 

“Gee, that’s reassuring.” Violet grumbled, finishing her braid. She got up to grab her bag and other belongings. 

“You know I’m right.” She joined her friend outside. “I can list every single way that someone could die here.” 

“Please don’t.” 

They began to walk to their cabin through the forestry. It was still quiet, except for their footsteps stepping on the dry path. Unfortunately, this peaceful walk didn’t last too long. 

“I have a convenient civilian with me!” Johnny appeared from the bushes and locked his arms onto Lisa. Quickly turning her head, the brunette could see that Isabel hiding in a tree with a water balloon. The entire atmosphere went dark. Apprehension was written all over the attacker’s face. Silence fell across the four teenagers. 

“Don’t use me as your shield or else I’ll make sure you’re the first person to die.” Her voice went from monotone to threatening. Suddenly, Johnny let go of her and made Violet his new shield. 

“Lisa! _ Do something _ !” She cried out at the teenager next to her. 

“Ha ha! Can’t touch my flaming hair now!” Johnny laughed at the girl in the tree. 

“You’re an asshat! You can’t just use some random girl as your shield!” Isabel yelled back. 

“Look, I just took a shower and I’m not in the mood to get wet.” The brunette grunted and tried to break free from the redhead’s lock. 

“What if I used Isaac as a shield?!” He ignored his hostage, more focused on taunting his opponent. She gave some thought to answering him. 

“Well, I guess that works.” She shrugged as if it were a casual conversation. In an instant, a splash was heard from behind Violet. 

Johnny fumbled to the ground as if he were shot. That snap from the popping balloon was the sound of defeat. The light in his eyes faded away and his body remained still on the ground. He released the teenager, who awkwardly stepped away from his motionless body. Her gaze turned to the direction where the splash came from. 

“I heard that!” Isaac retorted, getting out of his hiding place. In response, Isabel gave him a thumbs-up out for attacking the redhead from behind. 

“Hey, I say we call it a truce and take down Johnny for getting marshmallow in our hair!” She climbed down from the tree. He nodded in agreement and both teenagers started walking towards Johnny. 

“Rest in pieces, Johnny.” Lisa immediately grabbed Violet and dragged her away from the war scene of water balloons. In a flash, they were out of sight and leaving Johnny in the doom of Isabel and Isaac. 

As for Ed and Max, they were still at the enemy’s cabin. The pair was running low on the balloon ammunition. Forced behind a tree, they were trying to come up with a plan to attack the bullies. 

“Alright, I know that we’re stuck in a tight knot.  _ And _ it’s not looking great.” Max said with a stern look. He looked at the blonde, who was still as a statue. “I have a risky plan. Are you with me?” 

“I promised Isabel that she  _ will _ be avenged.” His glasses reflected brightly against the morning light. “Even if it means my life is on the line, I will be sacrificed in her pride.” 

A competitive smirk appeared on the brunette’s face. Lowering his cap, he leans to whisper the life-risking plan he had formed in his head. After learning the battle strategy, Ed nodded and climbed up the tree without hesitation. Crawling from his hiding place, Max put his hands up to surrender. 

“We surrender!” He said in a dreaded voice as the trio looked at him. 

“Well, that was easy.” Stephen shrugged, accepting the brunette’s act. 

“He’s lying, dude!” RJ shook his friend’s shoulders, looking back at the brunette. “I don’t see Ed surrendering with him!” 

“Maybe you should count the number of enemies next time.” Ollie put a hand on his shoulder. “You need to know how many people you’re going to fight before you fight them. For future reference, you know.” 

“Either way, I don’t see the guy with glasses.” They pointed out to where the capped boy stood. 

“Damn! You’re right!” The scarred teenager slapped himself. Then he gave the brunette a suspicious look. “Alright, are they in your cap?” 

Max took off his cap, shaking it on the ground. Then he put it back on again. 

“Okay, but it’s obvious that this guy’s on a solo surrender.” Green eyes glared from their hood. 

“You’re right. I’m trying to trick you for a…  _ Surprising sneak attack _ !” He threw three water balloons from his pockets, but they didn’t reach the cabin. “Wow. I failed that one.” 

“Holy shit! That was the stupidest aim!” Stephen cackled and imitated the other brunette’s throwing technique. 

“That was certainly… sad.” The larger boy agreed. “Even Johnny could do better in an offense.” 

“What do we do now?” RJ asked. 

“Steal his cap and toss it in the lake?” He suggested. From hearing this, Max slowly lowered his cap and swallowed hard. 

“AIEEEEAAAAAA!” Ed belted out from above. Without wasting another moment, the brunette’s surrendering hands went down his hood. From there, he tossed tree water balloons in the air and the blonde caught them. Swinging from his ink vine, Ed quickly threw the water balloons at the enemy. He made three perfect and clean shots with the last of what Max had. 

After that, the blonde was slowly swinging back and forth to land on the ground. He looked at the taller teenager and grinned. 

“You guys should have accepted the fake surrender.” The brunette stated. “Maybe  _ we  _ would have actually surrendered. Instead, you only took  _ my _ surrender.” 

“...Victory!” Isabel rushed to the scene with Isaac. She grabbed ahold of her best friend and swung the blonde in a circle. Meanwhile, Isaac was showing Max a photo of the defeated bully. Going back to the tree, the teenager grabbed a large stick wrapped in cloth. The activity club then planted it in the ground. Unwrapping the cloth, it revealed a doctopi painted on it. 

“Breakfast is ready if you want to eat…” Collin walked out of nowhere, and look up to see an octopus flag and two teenagers with water balloons hanging from their belts. He slowly walked away from this scene. 

“Oh nice, food!” Isabel cheered and immediately followed to where the food was. The teenager in glasses ran right after her because breakfast was mentioned. On instinct, Isaac decided to follow right after the pair. 

“Yeah, breakfast.” Max said to himself and started to walk away. 

O~O 

“Nice water balloon gear.” Dimitri complimented, looking at Isabel and Isaac. They were still adorned with multiple colors of water balloons. 

“Thanks, we were saving some of them. Just in case these two were running low.” She said, pointing to the other pair. 

“Normally, I would have expected you to guys to pair into a different order.” He said before taking a sip of his orange juice. 

“They had a vendetta against Johnny.” Max shoveled the cereal into his mouth. 

“Marshmallows aren’t actually animal-friendly. So Isaac made a truce.” Ed added and received a look from the ginger. 

“I guess that I could probably drop by the town to get vegan marshmallows.” Dimitri calmly replied. 

“You don’t really have to—” The medium began. 

“Relax, everyone should be able to have s’mores.” He interrupted. 

“Dude, I don’t think I can eat s’mores without you.” The brunette said in a voice of fake empathy. His irritated friend stirred at the oatmeal

“I know I can always have some s’mores!” She lightly laughed. 

“How… considerate of you guys.” A pair of blue eyes rolled at the laughing teenagers. 

“I’m sorry that you  _ can’t _ roast anyone since you  _ can’t _ roast marshmallows.” Max gave him an obnoxious look. At this point, Isabel was banging her fist on the table and Ed literally fell on the ground just to get the laughter out of his system. 

“Alright, Puckett.” The ginger shot up from his seat. He took a deep breath. “I  _ will _ throw these water balloons at you!” 

Now it was the capped boy’s turn to get and run. Isaac snatched the water balloons from the laughing girl and immediately chased after his running friend. Both boys were running down by the shore and out of the picnic area at that point. 

“Five bucks if Max outruns Isaac.” Isabel pulled out a five-dollar bill. 

“Ten dollars if Isaac gets him.” Ed replied. 

“Twenty dollars if either one of them ends up in the lake.” Dimitri slides the money on the table. 

“ _ It. Is. On. _ ” 

In the end, Max stole some of the water balloons from Isaac and attempted to throw them at him. However, the ginger got a shot on his friend and accidentally fell into the lake. Then he grabbed ahold of the taller teenager’s ankle and pulled him into the water. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this was a short chapter....


	3. Cold Sky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [Warning]: This chapter contains a made-up campfire horror story. It is NOT written in detail, but you can skip through Lisa's story if you're not the type to read horror stories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i has feels for maxaac but i cant put them in words.... so i just wing the romance thing because words....

"Don’t you think it’s weird that this place is too quiet?” Max asked. He and his friends were sitting in the picnic area to eat the pizza take-out dinner. 

“We’re kinda surrounded by teenagers who are blasting music,” Ed answered before taking a huge bite out of his pizza slice. 

“No— I meant the other guys.” He said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “ _ That we can see _ .” 

“Ohhh…” Everyone said in unison and the brunette gave them a deadpan stare. 

“I don’t really know since we’ve been here for a day.” Ed replied, thinking for a moment. “I guess we were all too busy having fun to notice. Last night was fun, but you went to bed.” 

In that moment, Isaac started to eat his pizza in an awkward manner. However, no one really paid attention to him because he was having some weird type of vegan pizza. For max, however, he was trying to focus on his thoughts. 

“It was pretty fun until  _ someone _ got melted marshmallow in our hair.” Isabel looked directly at Johnny. She pointed at her narrowed eyes and switched to the other teenager’s. Clearly, the ruffian knew this was a death signal and walked faster. 

“But it was fun to get revenge, so we didn’t really notice anything.” The blonde commented. 

“Anyways, I guess that you’re right about the fact that this place…” She scanned the lake’s view for a moment. “...is quiet.” 

“But that’s not possible. We still have our powers and everything.” Isaac blinked. “Either we’re beginning to lose our powers or we’re all going crazy.” 

“I think that you’re the crazy one here.” She said in a dead voice, looking at his pizza. “ _ How _ can you even eat pizza without the cheese?” 

“Have you forgotten the pizza scale?” Max put his hand on her shoulder. “There’s one type of bad pizza and everything above it is good pizza.” 

“What pizza is ‘worse’ than one without cheese?” He took a deep breath before answering her. 

“Pizza with  _ pineapple _ .” Right then and there, Ed slapped him directly in the face. 

“ _ How could you? _ ” Isabel laughed at the blonde’s words, while the medium’s expression was full of shock. 

“I’m allowed to have opinions.” He stated and continued to eat his slice of pineapple-free pizza. 

“I think that burnt pizza would be considered the worst.” She commented. 

“I don’t eat meat, so I can’t have pizza with meat toppings.” The ginger shrugged and they ate in silence. Although, the boy in glasses grabbed a slice of pineapple pizza when he got up. 

“Oh right. About the whole ‘seeing’ thing, I found out that the trees are possessed.” Max spoke up. “There’s this one tree I met last night and… I remember that she told me to see her at sunset by the first cabin.” 

“What are we waiting for then? It’s almost sunset!” Isabel got up from the bench and pointed to the forest. “Let’s go and meet that tree to find out what’s with this place.” 

“Pizza first.” He immediately said. However, two of his friends were already finished with eating and got up. As for the younger teenager, he was just about done with his pizza. For the brunette, he sat in one place and didn’t budge. Soon enough, two of his friends grabbed him by the shoulders and began to drag him away from the picnic area. 

“Hey! Jeff and Cody what do you think of pineapple on pizza?” Ed called out when the duo walked by the group. 

“It’s like… the best!” The teenager with fluffy hair answered. 

“I like it.” His friend shrugged and they sat down at the picnic table. 

“ _ Heathens. _ ” Max’s face went dark as he was getting hauled away. 

Soon enough, the quartet already found themselves surrounded by the forest. Orange lights contrasted against the tree’s sharpened shadows. The cynical teenager was still being dragged across the grassy terrain with pizza in hand. Near the first cabin, the dark-haired girl looked around to see if the coast was clear. After a moment, she gave thumbs-up and looked at the sitting boy. 

“Do you remember what the tree looked like?” She asked him. 

“I can’t answer that question. It was too dark when she took me to the cabin.” He slowly chewed the food in his mouth. 

“She took you to our cabin?” Ed’s voice was surprised. 

“Yeah. The trees here can walk.” He looked back at him. “But I think she’ll recognize me.” 

The group of teenagers sat down on the ground, waiting for something to happen. The sky became a warmer color with each passing moment. Behind the mountains, the glowing light goes down. 

“Um… tree spirit, if you can hear me, are you here?” Max said out loud. 

“Yes?” The raspy voice came from behind the surprised girl. The bark began to form into a rather vague face. But it could be assumed that she was a friendly type. Even with a deformed face, she regarded the boy from the last night. “Ah, it’s you… I’m sorry, but what is your name?” 

“Max.” He pointed at the rest of his friends. “This is Isabel, Max is the one in glasses and Isaac—” 

“Oh, I remember him too! He fell on top of you and I believe you two were having a moment.” She laughed at the memory. 

“Wait, that wasn’t even—” Isaac started to protest. Isabel snickered in the background. 

“Don’t listen to that line. It was nothing.” He awkwardly chuckled, trying to steer the conversation in a different direction. However, the boy in glasses had a wide, devious smile. As if their minds were one, the laughing pair broke into a song. 

“Max and Isaac in a  _ tree _ , K-I-S-S-I-N- _ G _ !~” They both fell over, rolling in laughter. They couldn’t resist using a tree that was both a pun and romantic. 

“We aren’t in fourth grade anymore!” The medium yelled at them, wind coming from the palms of his hands. 

“It’s more like this;  _ Isaac tripped over a tree and ate dirt _ .” This comment didn’t help with the situation at hand since sparks were coming from his spiky hair. 

“Well, I would say his description of the story is right. And I apologize to the spiky-haired boy for tripping over me.” The spirit tried to regain everyone’s attention. “Anyhow, what is it that you wish to speak to me about?” 

“Because  _ you _ told me to speak with you at sunset?” Max give the tree a dubious expression. 

“Oh right.” She laughed softly. “I’m sorry, but I’m just being old.” 

“Old or not, can you answer a few questions for us?” Isabel recovered from her laughter as the ginger was attempting to bicker with her. 

“I don’t see why not?” The tree replied. 

“Where are all the small guys around here? Besides you, since we haven’t seen other ghosts around here.” She asked. “And why do you only want to talk at sunset?” 

“I do not know why I talk at sunset, actually. When the sun rises, I forget everything. But when evening comes, I know what’s happening and the world going on around me.” There was a pause. “I see others moving out and about when it gets darker, though.” 

“Nocturnals?” Isaac’s attention went to the tree. 

“Perhaps so, but I feel that evening is such an early time to talk.” The bark twisted slightly. “I have the ability to walk in the later hours.” 

“Does that confirm your idea?” Max nudged at the boy next to him. 

“What types of spirits live around here, besides trees?” Ed asked. 

“That, I cannot answer because I don’t go beyond anywhere else on my walks. It is not allowed to move out of this area.” The four teenagers had stunned looks. “Some part of me says to avoid going beyond a certain mark.” 

“We’ll keep that in mind.” They got up and waved a goodbye. 

“Wait. I forgot to tell you something important.” She called out in a whisp voice. “Any time you talk with someone here, your life energy gets drained.” 

“What?!” Everyone had a shocked expression. 

“It’s probably I was so tired, last night...” Max said to himself and looked at the tall tree again. “Is that why you offered to take me to my cabin? If so, how did you know which one was mine?” 

“I picked up the conversation from your friends in the evening they got here.” She explained. “Either way, you need to have a lot of sleep and energy in order to interact with most ghosts here. So don’t push yourselves.” 

“Good to know.” Isabel gave a forced smile and grabbed her friend’s shirt. “Well, we should be leaving now.” 

“Yeah, my dad told me to enjoy my time camping here.” Both boys were joining their friend on heading out. 

“It was just a warning I forgot to tell.” The voice echoed through the surrounding forest. By now, they were all running towards the picnic area. 

“Okay.” Isaac looked at them. “Interacting with any ghost or spirit here… will drain our life force until we faint.” 

“That doesn’t make sense if we have a steady flow of spectral energy.” Ed pointed out. 

“That’s what I don’t understand either,” He replied, putting his hands on his knees. “But we should be careful on this trip.” 

“Why are we even here?” Isabel threw her hands in the air and pointed at the brunette. 

“Whatever, I went here because my dad locked me out for a week or two.” He looked away from them. “Plus, it’s not like I’m going to bother you guys into letting me stay over. I can survive a few nights out here.” 

“I probably shouldn’t have asked, then.” She sighed and patted him on the back. “If something happens, we can just call Spender.” 

“What? If people see him here, they’ll freak out and think some adult is crashing the party.” Isaac said. 

“Not unless… he brings pizza.” He paused for a moment and repeated the sentence. “Not unless… he brings alcohol.” 

“What kind of teacher brings alcohol to teenagers?! He could get fired!” Her hands were on the brunette’s shoulders and she shook him. 

“Since when has he ever been a good mentor— Ow!” The ginger rubbed his elbow from the punch he received. 

“C’mon guys,” Ed trailed off, looking at his friend. “Aren’t we old enough to handle this on our own? It’s not like we need to turn to him every time something’s going on.” 

“You’re right,” She sighed and looked up at the sky. “I mean, it’s not like we can’t handle this on our own.” 

“Even if something bad happens, all we need to do is basically kick their asses.” Max agreed with her and looked around. “Anyway, I promised my dad to eat s’mores. So we should help with the campfire.” 

“Don’t break any tree wood.” She and Ed began to walk off. That comment left the other boy groaning from the many flashbacks of certain spirits he encountered. 

“Mind if I stick around to help?” Isaac put his hands in his pockets, kicking at the ground. 

“Sure, but I don’t know what you’re going to help with.” Max darted his eyes back forth for a moment before turning to the older boy. “I don’t really know if we can be productive, so what else do you want to do?” 

“Feel like walking near the lake?” He suggested. 

“Not really my thing, but we have to wait for the fire to get going.” They both made their way towards the small cliff and climbed down to the shore. Light sparkled on the dark lake from the setting sun. The sky was clear and faded into a dusky gradient. Aside from the chattering party of many teenagers, the area seemed peaceful and quiet. An impassive space stood between them as they could only hear each other’s steps on the pebbly shore. 

“Back there, what do you mean walking isn’t _your_ _thing_?” The medium questioned. 

Max tucked his hands into the front pocket of his hoodie and replied, “I’m not really into the nature things.” 

“Why not?” Isaac asked, walking ahead of him. “It’s cool to see the places where people aren’t.” 

“Heh, I guess you’re right about that.” The corner of his mouth tugged into a small smile. “The thing is… I’m not that weird girl who adores nature and decides to run away into the woods about it.” 

“Snow White did that because her mother wanted to kill her.” Isaac pointed out. “She learned to live in nature and sing to animals.” 

“It’s not like I’ve attempted to run from my dad before,” He rolled his eyes. “Also, I don’t like singing to animals at all. I prefer to see the ghosts and spirits that don’t try to kill me.” 

“Like that tree who literally absorbed your energy?” A smirk appeared on the other boy’s face. 

“I was talking about Pain Killer. Not the plants that can potentially kill me.” Max went face-to-face with his friend. 

A smile spread across the ginger’s face, leaving him with a confused look. A hand quickly tipped down his worn blue cap. “Maybe you are the Snow White in the supernatural world. We all know that you miss the little guy.” 

“Me? A princess?” He said in an exaggeratedly soft tone. Then he adjusted his cap back up. Without warning, he tugged Isaac’s hood forward and pulled on the drawstrings. “I think that you’re more of the princess.” 

“Real. Mature.” He folded his arms at the taller teenager. While his friend was fixing his hood, Max set his gaze at the fading sunlight. By now the sky was a milky lavender that would soon fade into a dark, ink night time. The mountains’ shadowed the entire lake and campsite, leaving a cold wash of colors everywhere. A hand reached for his and his eyes were now focused on the older teenager. 

“Now’s a good time to head back.” Tugging at his friend’s hand, Isaac began to lead the way back towards where everyone else was. In his eyes, he could see blue tints everywhere as the temperature got cooler. Despite all of this, there was a warmth in his hand with Isaac’s. It was a great contrast, but it soon faded as they got near the bonfire that their friends had set up. 

Right then and there, their hands loosened from each other. The warmth didn’t fade away because they were near the campfire. However, it was simply empty. 

They both took a seat on different logs near the fire with everyone else. Everyone had ingredients for s’mores and they were talking amongst each other. A stick appeared right in front of the brunette, who blinked in surprise. 

“I don’t know if you were spacing out or entering the  _ imagination zone _ .” Isabel said as he took the stick. He groaned at the last two words because it was code for seeing their spirits. 

“Just spacing out. That’s all.” He grabbed a marshmallow and poked it through the stick. 

“Toss me one of those bad boys!” Johnny yelled at him from across the fire. Passing the bag to Isabel, she instantly threw a marshmallow into his mouth. 

“Hey, can you try that on me next?” Cody asked. “I want to try catching it with my mouth.” 

“You sure?” She said in a nervous tone of voice. “I don’t want you choking one by accident. Or anyone wasting these marshmallows.” 

He simply opened his mouth wide open. Without thinking, the teenager next to her threw the marshmallow instead and it landed in the fire. Her spectral energy hovered over the brunette in reaction to wasting the marshmallow. Grabbing a marshmallow from the bag, she tossed it to the other boy. Catching the marshmallow with his mouth, everyone applauded this feat. 

“Nice catch!” Jeff exclaimed. 

“Mfhanks.” He said, chewing the marshmallow. 

“Hey Lisa, didn’t you say you had a campfire story to tell us?” Ed blew on his marshmallow arrangement. 

“Oh right.” She smiled, taking out a flashlight. Flicking the switch on, she instantly opened her eyes and stared into the distance. “Now be quiet everyone.” 

“What?” The redhead said from the distance as he tried to steal the marshmallow bag away. 

“Silence deadhead.” She shot a look at his direction. Slowly, he went back to burning his marshmallow in the fire. Lisa took another deep breath before beginning her story again. 

_ “Long before anyone was born, this mountain of Mayview used to be the home of the evils that walked the land. They made the mountains and lakes in their perfect arrangement to please their gods and spirits. Fires were constructed and blood would be gathered to show their worship. One day, an outsider came here and decided it was going to his own land. He set up a camp at the mountaintop to prove that he would be their god that controlled every part of the woods.”  _

_ “At first, they knew that this man was simply a fool and would be killed easily or punished one day. However, what they didn’t expect was for him to set traps and be the cause of deaths within the land. He slaughtered the bodies to let them rot in the darkness and feed the hungry beasts at night. Death became constant with each day and he would scream that he would be their lord one day. Evil may have crawled throughout the land, but this man was something more than evil.”  _

_ “He became a kind of bloodshed and boredom. He had no purpose. No love. No feeling. Just the motivation to kill and remain without feeling. One day, the evils led a march to the mountains. At this point, they could no longer be an evil because that’s what normal humans would see them as. Instead, they were the murders of the mountain. They led other evils to the top of the mountain and seized the purposeless man. Before torturing him, he said…”  _

_ ‘Curse you, curse your spawns! I will haunt and slaughter anyone who dares touches  _ **_my_ ** _ mountain,  _ **_my_ ** _ water,  _ **_my_ ** _ land. Those who have feelings will bleed before crying. Those who try to outsmart me will have their heart rotting in the lake. Anyone in the distant days will be damned! I will make sure they’re dead and add to my dead rotting mountain of flesh.’  _

_ “Numerous ways of killing were used on him and they buried the body parts in separate places. His head was shoved on the cliffside and left to fall into the unknown drop below.”  _

A low whistle came from the boy with curly hair to exaggerate the falling motion. By now, some people around the campfire were either shaking or huddled close to each other. 

“In the end, legend has it that this man is willing to kill any adolescent who dares to  _ rule _ his mountain.” Lisa ended the campfire story with a smile. 

“I think that I… have a better story than that.” Johnny’s marshmallow dropped into the fire. Both RJ and the blonde by his side encouraged him to tell a cheesy campfire story right then and there. 

_ One hour of campfire stories later…  _

“...And now my goldfish rests in peace here.” Collin finished his story and everyone had either a sad or awkward expression on their faces. Suddenly, a hand gripped onto the small boy’s shoulder and he immediately let out a high-pitched scream. 

Without hesitation, Suzy’s fist punched whoever was behind her assistant. “Die mountain asshole!” 

“Oh, my fucking—! Is this blood!” The bully cried out in pain and some people got up to his aid. The journalist’s eyes went wide for a moment, awkwardly shifting away. Both Isabel and Max gave her a thumbs-up for the punch she gave the redhead. 

“It’s not his first time bleeding.” He popped a marshmallow into his mouth. 

“Trust me, he deserved it.” The dark-haired girl received an appalling look from the puncher. Meanwhile, Collin awkwardly patted her on on the shoulder for the unnecessary defense. But she was still contemplating over what happened that night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be having my wisdom teeth removed tomorrow and won't be able to write right away. I'm not sure when I will be fully aware of what I'm, but I know that I shouldn't write under anesthetics. Sorry that this chapter isn't really exciting, but I know that it will get better....??


	4. Crack Chapter in the Forest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a random chapter that was supposed to be funny, but it's actually kind of ridiculous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im so tired.... i wanted to make a funny chapter with them being out in the woods but like.... too many interactions to write and tired.... i want to have actual food, but wisdom tooth removed....

Smokey scents lingered in the air. The fire was put out and the forest was at peace. Most of the campers decided to return to their cabins to get some shut-eye. No one stayed up to party because the temperature was lower than the previous night. Some teenagers choose to head back to town and return the next day because they’d rather sleep in a comfortable bed. 

However, the spectrals were always sensing something that nobody would have noticed in the dead of this night. Apparently, the tree had been right about most of ghosts and spirits coming out at night. They played and laughed as if it were a sunny day. Their noise level wasn’t too bothersome. Therefore, the teeangers in cabin ten were resting peacefully to the wandering souls that romped outside. 

Whispers and murmurs formed a pattern of sounds as if it were music. Somehow, this couldn’t leave Max’s head and it played over and over again. Deep inside, he knew that ignoring it would be better and he wouldn’t need to leave his comfort or safety. On the other hand, he wanted to find the unknown source so it would leave his mind alone. 

Giving in, he pulled on two layers of socks and tied his hiking boots. Throwing on a denim jacket, he grabbed a flashlight and bat from the corner. Swinging open the wooden door, he looked around him. Underneath the stairs of every cabin had giant tortoises. Slimy spirits were crawling in the grass. Every ghost and spirit were colored dark and dully. One would say that this was a gloomy sight for sore eyes, but the brunette found it a satisfying scenery. From there, he began his adventure in the late hours. 

* * *

 

“Izzy, wake up.” Her shoulder was nudged by someone’s hand. Ignoring the voice, she buried her face deeper in the sleeping bag. “Izzy…!” 

Grunting, she opened one eye at her friend. It was the evil look. “...What the fuck do you want?” 

“Max is missing,” Isaac whispered. Giving him one last look, she threw herself on the pillow again. 

“Maybe he went to the bathroom,” She yawned, attempting to sleep again. 

“Ed just went on a night hike to spy on Johnny and his gang.” He said as she finally got up. 

“Wait… doesn’t that mean Johnny is following Max or something? ...And Ed is following Johnny?” The teenager turned on the lantern. 

“That’s the majority of the idea.” The ginger was searching through his bag. 

Swinging her legs out of bed, she groaned, “So… what you’re saying is that a bunch of people are walking out in the woods at night. Right now.” 

“Pretty much.” He had a small backpack on and waited for her to get ready. Sighing, she put her hair in a messy bun and began to suit up for the colder temperatures beyond the cabin. The red spectral was mumbling to herself as she went out the door with him. Soon enough, they were wandering off into the quiet nature. 

From the distance, a group of four saw that them walking out. Violet, Jeff, Cody, and Lisa were in full hiking attire and wandered out of their cabin. 

“Night hike, huh?” The teenager with light eyes said. “Looks like this is going to be fun.” 

“By fun, do you mean we’re going to be eaten by bears?” The brunette gave him a displeased look. 

“Oh Violet, you know that there aren’t any bears out here.” The other girl put her hands in her pockets. “Plus, that story I told was just an urban myth passed down from generations.” 

Again, a low whistle came from Jeff. It was the same sound as from the story she told a few hours ago. He shrugged and said, “Nothing bad is going to happen to us when we have the sacred knowledge of these woods!” 

“That’s information from a magazine about the supernatural.” Violet pinched the bridge of her nose as she began following her group into the nearby trail. 

“Are we all set to go?” A voice came from the nearby trees. Then, the journalist club appeared from behind the trees. Suzy had a pair of night-vision goggles on and her assistant was carry a camera with a green screening view. Meanwhile, Dimitri was carrying some hiking gear on the side. 

“What exactly are we searching for?” He asked, leading the way on the trail. 

“I dunno, maybe sasquatch or the ghost of a dead man?” She answered, adjusting her goggles. 

“I swear, if something gets out of hand, then I’ll run straight to my grandparents’ house.” Collin said. 

“I don’t think you guys need to worry. I’ll be leading the way on the trail.” He reassured the reporter. 

“Doesn’t matter, all we need to do is find something out here! It’s almost a full moon and this could maybe involve the alignment of planets for something newsworthy to happen!” She skipped right to the trail. 

_ Meanwhile…  _

“Aren’t you just a bit worried about what could potentially leap out at us?” Ollie asked the redhead who was leading the group. 

“Not at all because I’ve got an epic playlist of fighting music!” He tossed the small music player in the air and caught it. “We can just fight anything that tries to kill and we’ll be prepared to fight with awesome music!” 

“Is it just me, or am I getting  _ deja vu _ about this?” Stephen began to tie his jacket around his waist. 

“ _ Deja who _ ?” He raised an eyebrow at the boy with long hair. “Seems nothing like a deja-anything.” 

“Eh, he’s probably right.” RJ shrugged him off. “We’re walking out in the woods at night for no apparent reason.” 

“Wait. Isn’t the reason why we’re out here is because of that Max-kid?”  The giant teenager questioned. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about—” The rustle from a bush interrupted him and he slowly turned around. All of his friends were now getting ready to face off their opponent. 

However, a small hedgehog scuttled across the dirt path and hid away in the other thick brush. 

“Oh my god.” The shorter teenager said. “I should have gotten a pic of that thing.” 

“You’re right.” Johnny said in a distant voice. But suddenly, a thud came from behind him and he raised his fists again. He looked to see a teenager with thick glasses, laying on the dirt ground. “Oh wait, it’s just the Burger kid.” 

“What’s he doing out here?” RJ asked as the bullies walked over to the fallen boy. 

“Oh, it’s you guys again.” Ed was pulled up to his feet again. “I’m just out here to find Max and thought you saw him.” 

“Well, we didn’t see him.” Stephen huffed, arms crossed. “We’re out here to see if demons exist.” 

“In that case, can I join? Because I don’t have anyone else out here with me.” He asked and the group just laughed at him for a moment. Rummaging through his pocket, he took out a bag. “I have salt if you need some.” 

“Gimme that.” Johnny took the bag and stick his finger in it and put it right near his mouth. 

“Is it cocaine?” The other boy with dyed hair asked in a high-pitched voice. Everyone stared in anticipation as the redhead stuck his finger into his mouth. 

“Legit salt.” He answered and gave the bag back to the blonde. He stuck out his hand. “Good to see you working with us on this demon hunt.” 

“Don’t forget, I’m trying to find Max too—” Ed was then whisked away into the night with the loud ruffians cackling like crazy. Somehow, this was unsurprisingly going to be a long night. 

_ Meanwhile... meanwhile…  _

Isabel’s bloodshot eyes were darting her surrounds. Crickets chirped and the wind blew gently. In the back of her head, she knew that it was a stupid idea to get dragged out into the woods at night. The only thing she was thankful for was that nobody was walking drunk out in the middle of the night. She could also feel the tug of her bag because the other boy was trying to avoid getting lost. 

“You know, you’re the one who dragged me out of bed in the first place.” She said in an annoyed tone. 

“I know, but they obviously didn’t go to the bathrooms.” He protested. “Max is somewhere out here, I can tell.” 

“Fine, let’s go ask someone.” Taking out a flashlight, the teenager shone a light towards the side to get a better look at the ghosts and spirits. “Excuse me, but have you seen any teenagers who happened to have passed by? One is wearing a blue hat and the other has circular glasses.” 

“Hoothat awhoot…” An owl-like ghost turned its head in a specific direction, perfectly understanding their question. 

“Aw, thanks—” Isabel was about to wave goodbye until a distant howl was heard from that direction. She immediately stopped in her tracks and gave the bird spirit a nasty look. “On second thought, I don’t trust you.” 

However, Isaac had to push her towards the path. She refused to walk any further and he said, “You were the one who decided to ask for directions.” 

“Ha, it’s not like I’m going to trust a bird and eat up seeing a wolf.” She nervously chuckled as he gave her a blank stare. He tried to push her again, but she stayed in place. Soon enough, they were arguing over what to do at that point and angrily whispered to each other. 

There finally came a point where the girl heard another howl and she started running. The other teenager followed to avoid getting lost, but then they both crashed into the journalist club. 

“Holy fuck—” Isabel said before crashing into the blonde girl. For the ginger, he was panting from the run and promptly fell on the ground. Collin looked at the filming camera in confusion as it replayed its green-lit video. Sighing, he deleted that part. 

“Isabel? Isaac?” The teenager with thick hair lifted the two up. “What are you doing out here?” 

“What are you doing out here? There are wolves out here, forPete'ss sake!” She threw her hands downwards. 

“What if it was the wolfman?” Suzy’s blue eyes lit up. However, they returned to normal when seeing the girl in front of her. 

“Wolfman or not, I’m not going to be here all night.” The girl with long hair placed her hands on her hips. 

“Look Isabel, nothing’s bad going to happen. Could you just tell me why you and Isaac were out here?” Dimitri asked. 

“Well, it seems that Max went out in the woods… And Johnny decided to follow him… Then Ed went after them to look for our friend.” The ginger explained slowly. The other teenager nodded. 

“How about we all stick together for now?” He suggested, lowering his hands. “It’s better to walk in numbers than to wander off in smaller groups.” 

“You say that like we’re in a horror movie!” Collin cried out. 

“I’m just trying to be realistic here,” Dimitri said. “I don’t think it’s a good time to get lost in the middle of the woods.” 

“Well, I need to find a monster out here.” The blonde kicked at the nearby shrubbery. “And I don’t want those two to mess up my story!” 

“Safety first before finding creatures—” He began to speak. Suddenly, there were hoots ad shouts coming from a close distance. 

“Oh my fucking jesus! We’ve found demons man!  _ De. Mons. _ ” Johnny was hollering and waving his shirt in the air as he was being dragged away by a shorter teenager. 

“Ed?!” Isabel instantly made a break for it and stole the blonde boy who was holding onto the shirtless teenager. While shaking his head, Dimitri knew that the bullies were screaming like banshees and howling like no tomorrow because of a demon appearance. One part of him knew that demons were simply a myth, and the other part knew that Johnny shouldn’t be trusted with salt. 

_ Meanwhile… meanwhile… meanwhile…  _

“Is that cocaine?” Violet looked at the ground in a dubious expression. 

“I mean, like, it’s the woods.” Jeff slowly said. “Crazy mountain people live here with the animals.” 

“It’s obvious that people up here need something  _ fun _ to do.” The taller girl winked and both people gave her concerned faces. Meanwhile, Cody was observing the ground that had a pile of white dust. 

“But why would they leave it out here?” He asked. “This looks like a lot and they just waste it.” 

The brunette scowled at him, “Don’t you dare lick that stuff. We don’t need you getting high.” 

“But—” 

“Cody, you know that it could be trap to lure us into becoming cursed by the mountain spirits!” His best friend called out and and the teenager finally pulled himself away from the substance. 

“Why did curiosity have to kill cats…” He sighed, going back to his friends. 

“Well, that was very uneventful.” Lisa gave a look of dismay. In front of the quartet, the bushes were shaking nearby and they all tensed up. 

“Take your cocaine already! We weren’t interested in the first place!” The teenager with large hair said to the bush. His friend stood behind the dark-haired girl. 

Finally, Max came from the bushes and was dusting himself off. He looked to see the group sighing in relief. He looked down on the ground and said, “Guys, it’s just crushed sunflower seeds.” 

All of them had either disappointed looks or confused faces. However, everyone agreed that they should immediately head back to the cabins and forget what had happened. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was not my best work


	5. Drunk Teenagers at Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter that I really wanted to write. It's basically a bunch of teenagers getting drunk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember how this story is rated M? It's this chapter. 
> 
> Don't drink alcohol. This is a work of fiction.

The clear sky was bright in the late morning. People were slowly arriving at the picnic area to prepare or wait for breakfast. A griddle was set up and pancake batter dripped onto the hot surface. It took awhile for everyone to actually wake up from last night’s events. That was, of course never to be spoken of again. 

Today would be the last day for everyone to actually sleep there, but Suzy had a plan to reel them back in for tomorrow. For now, most people were packing up and enjoying the breakfast of various pancakes. 

“As much as I’d like to get out of this place, I know that I don’t have a place to go back to.” Max said. 

“Same here,” Isabel agreed. “I’m not in the mood to go home. So, might as well stay here.” 

“I mean, it’s kind of free to roam in the woods.” Ed commented, stuffing two pancakes into his mouth. 

“And… I’m the driver, so I can’t really leave you behind.” Isaac yawned, looking disinterested in his breakfast. 

“Are we just going to stay here?” The brunette asked and everyone nodded in agreement. Suddenly, another table was pushed against theirs and the student store teenagers were next to them. 

“Heard you guys were going to stay over for a few more nights,” Cody said as the other boy rolled his eyes. “If you need some company, we’ll alright with staying for a few more nights.” 

“But video games and technology…” Jeff sighed in disappointment as the brunette patted him on the back. 

“At least you weren’t security-locked outside of your house.” Max had a blank expression on his face. 

“Don’t worry, it’s not like we’re spending the entire summer here.” Violet poured herself a cup of orange juice. THen her eyes darted back at Cody’s. “I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen.” 

“Nature may be peaceful, but summer is always known to kill you with its devilish heat.” Lisa was decorating her stack of pancakes with various fruits and syrups. 

“But we have a lake to cool off.” Isabel pointed to the body of water near them. 

“True, but you should never underestimate the sun’s power.” She replied. 

“Guys, I promise that we won’t be staying here for a month.” Cody raised both hands in defense. “I just think it’d be much better to stay since there are fewer people. Kind of like a camping group.” 

“I’m jumping for joy.” Max rolled his eyes. 

“Heh, you will be by tonight.” Lisa chuckled, but no one heard her. 

With that, the discussion ended and everyone broke into smaller conversations. They knew that the rest of the day would be a relaxing one because there were lesser people. 

Across from their table sat the journalism club. Suzy was going over the footage with her assistant, while Johnny and his friends were trying to peek at the video camera. For the most part, there was a lot of screaming and yelling as the camera shook. To them, it was one hell of a night. However, the journalist was tugging her hair at the ridiculous amount of wasted footage. Eventually, Collin had to put away the video camera from being squished by the redhead and scarred teenager. 

“I can’t believe that nothing happened last night!” She was banging her head on the wooden table. 

“What did you expect? The only monsters out here are drunk teenagers.” The reporter rolled his eyes and put his plate out towards the griddle. Ollie had then flipped a pancake onto there. 

“But we weren’t drunk last night— were we?” Johnny said, unaware that he was drowning his breakfast in maple syrup. “Maybe I was the drunk one.” 

“Hey, can I have the video camera?” Dimitri tapped on Collin’s shoulder. 

“Uh, sure?” He handed the camera to the older teenager and he ran off to the camper. 

“Oh c’mon! It’s obvious that there’s something in these woods!” She stabbed the fork into her stack of pancakes. “Your great-grandparents would always tell us stories about this place!” 

“They told us those stories because we were little kids at the time. I know that there have been some articles in the past about this place, but they’re out-of-date.” He sighed and turned to face her. “Honestly, you should give it a break and relax.” 

“There are stories about this place?” A voice spoke out of nowhere and everyone turned to see a girl with short bob-cut hair. 

“Hey, I don’t remember you joining the party.” Johnny’s gave her a blank stare. 

“Oh. I just decided to swing by and bring some pancake batter and admire the ecosystem.” Alex stated. “I’m not going to stay for the night because I’m not much of a camping person.” 

“She makes good pancake batter.” Ollie flipped another hotcake on the griddle. “That’s all I can say.” 

* * *

 

Daylight disappeared into the late hours of the night. Only fifteen teenagers were at the camp since everyone left during the day. They were sitting in a circle around the large bonfire. Its flames crackled as sparks gently rose into the night sky. 

They weren’t doing much at the time and continued to have conversations amongst each other. However, the chatting slowly faded away and became the awkward silence. 

“I have an idea.” Lisa announced, reaching behind her and pulled out a bag of red plastic cups. “WHo wants alcohol?” 

“Why, exactly?” Ed asked. 

“It’s not like I’m giving you the strong stuff. I’m going to pour a shot with a beverage base.” She said, giving a wink. “I can mix chocolate milk with alcohol if you want.” 

“Isn’t this a stupid idea?” Isaac folded his arms. A cup was then thrown at him. 

“Friendly reminder that all of us have already drunk some type of chemically enhanced soda during high school.” Isabel pointed out. 

“It’s free, right?” Max said with a blank stare. 

“It’s fine because we’re not going to drive or do something stupid after this.” Cody shrugged and looked at the ginger. “Aren’t you eighteen, Isaac?” 

“Oh god, you’re an adult?” The brunette snickered as the other boy fumed. 

Lisa brought out two jugs from the cooler. “Adult or not, I’ve got chocolate milk and orange juice as bases. It’s important for the plan.” 

Even though drinking was controversial, everyone didn’t bother to complain further. Back at the student store, the barista was always serving drinks that resembled alcoholic drinks. Plus, it wasn’t going to be a shot party either. Some of them downed their drinks in an instant. While others were getting used to the taste and took their time to finish. 

After that, the mood slightly changed amongst the group. It was a bit lighter, but everyone remained intact and functioning. Getting up, Lisa passed out slips of paper and small pencils. 

“Now that we’re under the influence of alcohol, this activity will be much more interesting.” Rubbing her hands together, she smiled. “I like to call it, ‘anonymous dares.’ Just write down a dare on the paper and I’ll pass it to a random person and they have to do it.” 

“Anything else?” Violet had a dubious look on her face. 

“Well, your dare can involve another person next to them. But no entire group dares.” She replied. 

“Aren’t there any other rules?” Jeff asked. 

“Make sure it’s not crazy illegal because we can’t bail you out.” Johnny let out an angry sigh in the background. 

“So those are all the rules, huh?” Stephen scribbled onto his paper. 

“No hanky-panky because we need consent and condoms.” Lisa said without any expression. 

“Pardon?” Max gulped. 

Her blank face went dark. Glassy eyes stared into the unknown as she stated, “ **_No. Hanky-panky._ ** ” 

Somehow this made everyone nervous as they silently wrote dares. Each folded paper was dropped into a red plastic cup. It went around until it was in Lisa’s hands again and she passed to the first person next to her. 

“We’ll do one dare at a time as an element of surprise.” She explained, waving her finger. “Don’t try to escape from the dare.” 

Ed unfolded the paper he took as everyone stared in anticipation. He peered at the paper for a moment and then stated, “Eat grass.” He reached for the grass nearby and put it in his mouth before spitting it out. He gave the red cup to RJ. They had to mix candy powder with a can of energy-packed soda and drink it. SOme people swore that the hooded teenager went into transcendency after this. 

The dares weren’t entirely bad as they thought it would be. Only a couple of them were actually dumb, but the rest were just plain weird. Ollie had to do an imprresion of Mr. Starchman while Stephen was forced to wear a wet shirt. Violet had a disturbed look on her face as shewed on a burnt marshmallow. Meanwhile, Jeff had to sing an anime theme song with a southern accent. 

“Kiss both people sitting next to you.” Cody read aloud, smiling. “Well, alright.” 

Without warning, he pressed his lips against his best friend and stayed this way for an entire moment. Some teenagers were cheering for him as he pulled away. 

“Wait, what’s going on—” Without warning, the gay teenager had his lips on Johnny’s. It only lasted a quick moment and left him with a shocked look on his face. The red cup was then passed onto him. 

“Thank god that we all drank that shot.” Max raised his beverage. 

“Strut in a pair of high heels.” The bully said and looked around. “Anyone have those?” 

After that dare, it was Isabel’s turn and she had to lick someone’s left hand. Because Suzy was the closest, she got it over with and did so. For the rest of the night, the blonde had looked as if she were ‘scarred for life.’ When Suzy was done with her dare, Dimitri was given the plastic cup. All he had to do was switch jackets with the boy next to him. Then, Collin was given the plastic cup. 

“This just has the word ‘shots’ written in _capitals_.” His brow furrowed as he put the paper away. 

“You’re gonna get wrecked.” Lisa winked at him as she presented him multiple drinks. Surprisingly, he took the dare and downed each drink without hesitation. Everybody’s eyes widened at the sight or they simply gaped at his actions. 

Instantly, he threw the cup at Isaac and had to lean onto the blonde next to him. His dare was to let someone pour a bucket of ice down his shirt and everyone was laughing since Isabel didn’t have to think twice and assisted the other girl with the ice. 

Now, it was Max’s turn to take the last dare. Unfolding the paper, he rolled his eyes and assumed that he’d get something weird. However, his pupils dilated when reading the paper. He stayed silent as Lisa snatched the dare from his hands. 

“Go skinny dipping with the person on your left.” Her eyes widened, as she smiled. “Finally. A fucking decent dare.” 

Everyone was trying to hold back grins and covering their faces to hide their reactions to this dare. Meanwhile, the teenager on his left was blushing a madly. 

He didn’t know how he and Isaac ended up standing on the docks. Everyone didn’t really see them strip off their clothes or watch them because they only needed two things as proof. They had to hear two splashes and see that all of their clothes were on the docks. 

“Please tell me that this is an embarrassing dream.” Isaac hugged himself tightly. 

“How much alcohol caused this to happen?” Max hissed, throwing off his hoodie and cap. 

“Why am I doing this?” He looked down at the dark lake. 

“Let’s get this over with.” The brunette smirked, stretching out his arm to push the medium into the water. However, his plan failed and Isaac took advantage of the situation. Max may have been taller, but he was much lighter and wasn’t exactly a brick wall. Grabbing his wrist, the ginger then swung him into the water. Laughter came from the background as the first splash was heard. 

Soon enough, a hand stuck out of the water and reached for the dock. Feeling the bare ankle, Max gathered all the strength he pulled Isaac into the lake. Plunging deep into the dark water, he could feel its motion surrounding his body. Despite the wavering water, he could feel his hand locked with another. His body was then drawn to the surface where he took a deep breath of air. He caught himself staring at the other teenager that pulled him into the water. Max wasn’t paying attention and a pair of bright blue eyes couldn’t look away. It was simply amazing how a single shot of alcohol led him into stripping off his clothes and jumping into the lake with his friend. And now, it made him fixated at the sight of Max next to him. 

However, he snapped out of it when he could hear giggles and laughter in the distance. Apparently, stealing their clothes was part of the dare. Now, Isaac was blushing red because he and the other teenager had to run naked back to their cabin in the middle of the night. Fun times. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shots shots shot-shots-shots-shots shots shots everyybodyy


End file.
